January 21, 2003
In a land far far away

Here's your political geography question for today:

An inarticulate, politically inexperienced man with family links to a previous national regime comes to provincial leadership. Subsequently he gains the highest national office without winning the popular vote. The election in which he was declared the victor is considered compromised by his brother's province. He appoints a chief law enforcement officer who has repeatedly called for constitutional revisions. Regulatory agencies are filled with those previously regulated. Soldiers patrol transportation centers. International treaties are abrogated. International legal organizations are shunned. Roles of police and military are blurred. Law enforcement agencies are centralized. Individual civil rights are reduced. A "shadow" government is created. Domestic surveillance is increased. People are encouraged to spy on each other. Military budgets are increased. The military establishes a disinformation program. Media access to government is limited. Consultations with the legislative branch decline. Connections to corrupt corporate sponsors are disavowed. Efforts to further plunder natural resources for profit are initiated. Access to past administrations' documents is limited. A war mentality is established with imprecise enemies. Nebulous fear- inducing alerts are periodically released. National level profiling is introduced. People are imprisoned without public charges and unknown others are "disappeared."

Bill Petz, Asheville Citizen-Times, Aug. 9, 2002.

Where is that country? And, where is the one I was born in?

Posted by Gordon at January 21, 2003 12:14 PM | E-mail Author | Back to main page
Comments

move

Posted by: fred on February 7, 2003 1:50 PM

I will surely pass your suggestion on to the author, Fred. As for me, I will stay and continue to try to educate my fellow citizens about the political and ethical bankruptcy of this administration (and I'm not talking about their budget), work to turn out the current administration and reverse the Republican party control of Congress, and to spoil your day.

Posted by: gordon on February 7, 2003 7:08 PM
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